A mix of experimental baking, [bad] humor and good times.

I’ve been looking for something new to do for Christmas this year and peppermint bark was a new one for me. I know this is a totally weird story, but it always reminds me of going to see my ob-gyn when I was pregnant. It was my first among many appointments and I remember her rushing in the room to congratulate my husband and me. She just so happen to be eating peppermint bark and why I remember this, I haven’t a clue. It’s a good memory, so I’ll take it.

Anyway, so I had never made any peppermint bark until today. My husband’s going to a Christmas party tomorrow and some of the folks who are attending don’t eat gluten. This seemed like a good alternative for him to bring and it gave me something new to try. It’s quick and easy, so it’s perfect for busy people.

*It’s important to use quality chocolate when you’re making something where chocolate is the star. I prefer Guittard.

Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave. If you’re using a microwave, keep a close eye on it and stir it around every 30 seconds to avoid burning. Also, it’s important everything is clean and dry. Remember, water causes chocolate to seize. If you want a shimmer to your chocolate, you can add a tablespoon of vegetable oil or a little paraffin while it melts. Once the chocolate is melted, pour and spread evenly into a jelly roll pan that’s been lined with parchment paper with a little overlap to make it easy to get out. The size jelly roll pan I used for this one was 10″ x 13″. It’ll produce thicker bark, so for thinner bark, you can use a larger one. Freeze for 20 minutes.

While the dark chocolate freezes, melt the white chocolate the same way you did the dark. Pour and spread over the frozen dark chocolate. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes on the top and gently pat down to help them stick. Freeze for another 20 minutes.

Remove from pan and break apart with a sharp knife or if you’re really talented, you can try to cut these in nice squares.

Cold and snowy days are perfect for baking and we’ve had more snow than usual this past week. Schools were closed for a few days in a row (parents were going nuts) and life around here came to a standstill. There was a lot more nightlife–people were out enjoying the peaceful snowfall, kids were sledding and making snowmen, and some people just had to resort to walking to places they needed to go because it was so icy.

With this weather and the holidays approaching, I imagine there will be more posts coming your way (at least I hope!). This one I’m posting now has been in our family for a long time and I’m not sure where it originated. Of course I had to make a minor adjustment to it. It needed chocolate chips, so bam! There are chocolate chips for you. I think it’s the best oatmeal cookie recipe, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Scoop out a rounded tablespoon full or use a cookie scoop and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake.

What a week! I just started school again–just a couple of pre-req psychology courses for the master’s program I’m applying to. It’s been a while since I’ve been in college and although it hasn’t changed, I sure have changed. The topics that seemed so boring and irrelevant to my life are now interesting and relatable. Before, I could easily get by without reading and do fairly well in the class and now I find myself wanting to read the material (despite the thought that some professors seem to think that theirs is the only class you’re taking) and really understand it. On top of all of that, there are new distractions for me that weren’t there before: Facebook, Reddit, the fact that I have a laptop to take to class and be online while class is going on. Hmm…maybe there’s a theme from my last post…

I also get quite excited to tell Matt that we’re going to school together. His preschool is the next block over from my department. I think he’s also excited to know that his mom goes to school just like him. Hopefully I can be an inspiration to him.

So in between reading, studying, and getting back into the swing of college life, I thought some vanilla cupcakes with raspberry frosting would be a nice way to end the first week of school.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

For the cupcakes:
This is the same cupcake recipe that I used for the Snowman cupcakes, but here’s the recipe for your convenience.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and mix with an electric mixer until mixture looks sandy/has course crumbles. Combine the milk and vanilla and add to mixture, mixing at a low speed for 30 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl. With the mixer running at low speed, add one egg at a time making sure to incorporate each egg entirely before adding another. Repeat until each egg is added. Make sure to scrape the bowl as you go along. Pour into prepared muffin tin (again, I use my large cookie scoop for this job) and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Put the raspberries in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat stirring with a spoon until they break down into a sauce. Pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to take out the seeds and then put the seedless sauce back in the pot and simmer until it reduces to about 1/3 cup of liquid. Let it cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, cream butter for about 30 seconds with an electric mixer at medium speed. Add room temperature raspberry sauce, lemon juice, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and scrape down sides. Taste frosting to see if it’s at desired sweetness. If it needs more sugar, add about 1/3 cup and mix well. To reach desired texture, you can either add more sugar or milk to get it to the thickness you want. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes and garnish with the course sugar and raspberries.

Often times I sit in the same coffee shop, staring at my laptop screen thinking about what to write. I’ll end up getting distracted by something and then come back to this blank template with the cursor flashing in the same spot. I’ll think, “what’s interesting to write about today?” Inevitably, I’ll get distracted again–the music I’m listening to, people watching, what’s going on with Facebook, or that “(1)” next to my email account. I can’t possibly have that “(1)” next to my inbox or my Facebook account. [I think the internet would have you believe that this is simply that the OCD in me telling me to clear that notification: see this if you aren't aware of how apparently endemic OCD is in today's society. My husband claims to have OCD and I assure you, he does not. In fact, I'd probably welcome some OCD-like tendencies...haha.]

I realized after thinking and thinking of what to write about that I should just talk about what I think about when I have cheesecake. So, a few years ago–slightly before Matt was a twinkle in our eyes–Ken and I went to massage therapy school in hopes of opening our own clinic. Let me tell you, that was one hell of a year! We both worked full-time and then went to school from 6-10pm Monday through Thursday for an entire year. Over that year, we developed friendships with some of our classmates. We were all in this together and we worked as a team. Somehow or other we all decided to have a somewhat routine late-night visit to the nearby Cheesecake Factory for drinks and a snack–massaging is hard work, you know? Actually, it really can be so it was needed. Those were some of the best times and it brought us all much closer. I miss our “study sessions” and hanging out with all of them. So now every time I have cheesecake, I think of those times and those friends. In memory of those good times and all my classmates at NHI, this one’s for you guys!

This cheesecake recipe is really easy and it is soooo good. It’s actually the first one I’ve ever made. If you’re concerned about the berries “bleeding” throughout the top, I’d make sure you only use fresh berries.

For the Graham Cracker Base:
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Add 6 tablespoons melted butter, and stir completely into the dry ingredients to combine. The mixture should have the consistency of wet sand. Use a rubber spatula to transfer the mixture to the baking pan, and, using the back of a spoon or your hand, press evenly into 9″ springform pan. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until fragrant and golden. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

For the Cheesecake Filling:
Use a double boiler to gently melt 8 oz. white chocolate, taking care not to scorch. Set aside to cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, cream 16 oz. cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 or 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating on medium speed until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to gently add the cooled white chocolate (from the first step) and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and mix until well incorporated. Spread mixture evenly over the baked and cooled graham cracker crust and tap the pan gently on the counter to let the cheesecake filling gently spread out and settle in. Sprinkle the top of the cake with 1 1/4 cups wild berries, gently pressing the berries down so that the berries are almost level with the cheesecake filling. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 – 45 minutes, or until the cheesecake wobbles just slightly through the center and the edges are a little golden.

Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack, before placing in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to chill thoroughly.

Here comes the sun…doo doo doodoo! Now that I wrote that, I wonder if that’s copyright infringement with the Beatles. Well, not the Beatles, but with Michael Jackson’s estate. How he ended up owning the rights to their songs is just crazy…and highly controversial. And it certainly interferes with me being able to listen to all their songs on Rhapsody or Pandora. OK, that was slightly off topic, but when do I ever stay on topic?

Annnyway…there’s a glimpse of Spring in the air and I wanted to grab it and capture it in a cookie, so I did. Spring is my second favorite season with all of the flowers in bloom, new life, the pastel colors, people seem happier, and THE SUN RETURNS! I thought that perhaps if I baked something fresh and Spring-like that maybe the sun might want to stick around. So maybe if we all bake these Frosted Lemon Cookies, we have a chance! These cookies are on the tart side, so if you don’t like lemon, I can’t say I’d recommend these ones for you. If you do, you’re in for a treat.

Adjust the oven racks to the upper-and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs and lemon zest; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Roll a heaping tablespoon (or use a cookie scoop) of dough into a ball, roll the ball in the sugar, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart–they will spread a bit.

Bake until center is just set and begin to crack, 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

To make the frosting: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add more lemon juice if needed to reach the desired consistency. After cookies are completely cool, ice them with a small spatula or butter knife.

Whoa! We’re almost done with February and I have yet to do a single post. Where has the time gone? And perhaps more importantly, why haven’t I been in the kitchen?? Well, I’ll tell ya! For most of that time I was frantically studying for the GRE for admittance into grad school, so baking wasn’t exactly on my mind…maybe it should’ve been. As you can see, this was my life for 3 weeks straight:

In that time I also completed my 30 day challenge of no dairy. It wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be, but I do enjoy having the freedom to eat it as I deem necessary. Plus, baking with the option to use butter will be a little better than coconut oil. Although I’m able to eat dairy products again, I’ll continue to stick with the Paleo diet that I had started. It seems to be working well for me. Before anyone gets too wound up about that thought, don’t fret. I’ll still bake like I used to, but I’ll also post some Paleo-friendly baked goods for anyone who’s doing it, too.

I thought I’d mix it up a bit this time and post something that wasn’t chocolate. No, there’s nothing wrong with me. I just thought others in my household might appreciate something new, something fruity. So this post is about lemon curd. This particular recipe can go either way–it’s Paleo, but I really don’t think you’d notice it all that much. I’ve had “regular” lemon curd (my sister does a fantastic one), and this one doesn’t taste very far off from that.

Place all ingredients in a glass or other heat-resistant bowl and put it over pot of boiling water as you would a double boiler. Whisk constantly until it begins to thicken. It’ll get close to the consistency of pudding. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. Put plastic wrap over it and refrigerate for 2+ hours.

You can use this lemon curd for cookies, muffins, just eating straight up (maybe with some berries), or however else someone would eat lemon curd.

I’m halfway done with this 30 day no dairy crap. Can you tell it’s getting old? It is. The problem is more that I want the option to have dairy, not necessarily that I need it. I’m not real good with living with boundaries and rules. They’re just not my thing. I want to be able to go to a restaurant and not have to be a pain in the ass about it, you know? It’s stressful. I can tell you, come February 1st, there will be a gigantic cheese party at my house with brie being the guest of honor.

Anyway…..so I was hunting around trying to find something that I could make that would calm the monthly beast that is my hormones. Ladies, I’m sure you know what that’s like. I saw the picture for this recipe and it said “Paleo” on it. I thought there was no way that was Paleo and it must be a mistake. I clicked on it and read the ingredients. My first thought:

So yesterday I thought that I’d be brave and try it with an open mind and no expectations.

I made the first layer and tasted it. It was pretty darn good. Then, I don’t know what came over me, but I was about to lick the blade of the food processor to get the remaining bits off of it. Thankfully, I came to my senses and realized that I, in fact, didn’t need a forked tongue. I continued on making the next layer and thought that it seemed impossible to make caramel out of these ingredients. Lo and behold, it was pretty close to caramel in texture and taste. I was confident I’d like the next layer because it’s basically straight up chocolate and coffee. Combine all these layers and they make for a fantastic Paleo dessert. Hell, if no one told me what was in it, there’s no way I’d know. Mr. Coconut Detector (my husband) tasted slight hints of coconut, so he will not be eating them. What a shame! Now they’re all for me!

If you’re doing this dairy-free Paleo challenge with me, you’ll for sure want to try these. *Note: they are hard to make look pretty, but I assure you they taste great.

Put all of the Bottom Layer ingredients in a food processor and blend until all are combined. It will form a ball. Press the mixture into a large bread loaf pan. You don’t even need to clean the food processor at this point.

Put the dates from the Middle Layer list into a food processor and pulse until they are broken down (about 30 seconds). While the food processor is still running, add coconut milk tablespoon by tablespoon. Then do the same for the water. Now add the vanilla and salt and keep it running until it makes a smooth caramel. This will take 3-5 minutes. Pour caramel over the bottom layer and spread evenly.

To make the top layer, carefully melt the chocolate chips and coconut milk in the microwave. I’d do it in 20 second intervals, stirring in between each interval. Once it’s completely melted, add the coffee (or espresso) and stir to dissolve. Pour over caramel layer and spread evenly. Now put it in the freezer for about half an hour to set. Sprinkle with sea salt.Cut into desired size and enjoy!

I have a couple of friends who are obsessing over fudge lately. The obsession started over the Christmas break and is still in full force. As much as I love chocolate, fudge has never been one of those things I crave; however, I kept seeing these conversations about fudge on Facebook and was starting to get a hankering for it, too. Then I was asked to come up with a Paleo-friendly recipe. That seemed like a tall order. There’s usually a lot of refined sugar (in the form of granulated sugar, powdered sugar or sweetened condensed milk), and there’s usually dairy in regular recipes. However, I was determined to find something that would work for all of us. I saw this recipe and thought it looked like the closest I could get to fudge and to my delight, it was indeed pretty darn close.

With an electric mixer, whip coconut oil until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add cocoa powder and maple syrup and mix for about a minute, making sure to incorporate all ingredients by scraping the bowl. Add 1 cup of the almonds and 1/2 cup of cranberries and mix by hand. Put fudge in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients and lightly press down on them so they stick. Place fudge in the fridge and chill for about an hour. Cut into desired size pieces and store in the freezer.

*Because this is made with coconut oil, it will be messy once it gets slightly warm. You might have to lick your fingers. Darn!

OK, I lied. I said I’d post chocolate chip bacon cookies as my first post, but I got too excited about this one.

This is day 5 without dairy and doing the Paleo diet. So far, it’s a lot easier this time than it was the last time I tried to do this dairy-free experiment. I’ve tried some new things and have had to be more creative. Overall, I feel good both mentally and physically; I certainly notice a clearer mind, which I’d say is one of the biggest things I’ve noticed. However, 5 days is probably still a little early to notice any drastic changes, though.

All right, back to more important things. I’m a huge ice cream lover. It doesn’t matter what the season is, I’ll still eat it. When I was pregnant, I probably should’ve bought stock in Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Daz. It was ridiculous. I can’t tell you how many times my husband [lovingly] ran to the store for beer and a pint of ice cream for our respective vices to get through those crazy, hormonal, sleepless 9 months. As you can imagine, going 30 days without ice cream was going to be tough. Thankfully, I found this excellent recipe for dairy-free ice cream and even though it’s nothing like Häagen-Daz’s Caramel Cone ice cream, this one certainly curbs my craving for it.

I was afraid that without the fat from the heavy cream that goes into regular ice cream, this stuff would be real icy, but that wasn’t the case. I’d say the consistency is between frozen yogurt and sorbet. Sure, we’re in the middle of winter, but get out the ice cream maker and try this one!

Whisk together the coconut milk, syrup, coffee and egg yolks in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil for about a minute. Remove from heat and strain mixture into a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 2 hours.

Once it’s chilled, pour it into an ice cream maker along with the chocolate chips and almonds. Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker to get to desired consistency. Once that’s done, put ice cream in an air-tight container and freeze it or grab a spoon and dig in (ice cream will be softer if eaten right away). Enjoy!

Starting January, I have a challenge: 30 days without dairy. I confess I’ve tried it before and lasted a whole 2 days. It was hard! I didn’t have enough recipes at my disposal and I also had a lot of things going on at the time that it made it difficult to focus. Now that those challenges are gone and I’ve got a ton of helpful recipes, it’s time–time to say goodbye to dairy.

My research has concluded that some form of dairy exists in about 99% of the things I like to consume. OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it can’t be too far off. Even things you wouldn’t really think about contain dairy products. Of course there’s cheese, ice cream, and the mochas I drink while I’m writing these posts. Just typing that makes me sad. But how many times do you actually think about dairy being in things like chocolate? Maybe you milk chocolate lovers think of it since it’s in the name, but dark chocolate?! C’mon! The only chocolate that doesn’t contain dairy is baker’s chocolate and I sure as hell don’t plan on eating that anytime soon. Thankfully, they’ve come out with dairy and gluten-free chocolate chips which I will be trying over the next month.

You might be asking yourself why someone would do something so crazy. That’s a good question and I have two answers. One–a personal one–is that a food allergy/intolerance test I took came back stating that I have an intolerance to whey. How it effects me won’t be revealed until I eliminate it completely and then reintroduce it 30 days later. So I’m interested to see how that turns out. The other reason I’m doing this is that I’ve been slowly working my way toward the Paleo diet. Now, I’m no expert in this, but I have a friend who’s quite knowledgable on the topic and writes about it for a well-known Paleo magazine. Feel free to check out her blog, Paleo Periodical, for more info and links to other sources.

Blah, blah, blah…Anyway, how does this affect you? For the month of January my posts will be following Paleo guidelines–no grains, no dairy, no refined sugar and no legumes (i.e. peanuts). If you’re like me, you’re probably thinking, “Riiiight! Like you can actually bake without AP flour, sugar or butter.” It’s actually not impossible! I’ll be perfectly honest and say that the real deal tastes better to me, but maybe it’s one of those things that you just have to get used to. However, some of the things I’ve baked so far have been pretty good. Instead of using AP flour, Paleo bakers typically use almond flour and coconut flour. Sugar is replaced with things like maple syrup, honey, bananas and dates. Coconut oil is the usual substitute for butter and coconut milk can be a substitute for milk.

I should state that the recipes I’m going to post will be very experimental since I’m no pro at baking with these kinds of ingredients. I’ll let you know what I think of these recipes and if I think there should be any alterations. I figure if I’m going to be making these things, I might as well post them regardless of how they turn out. That said, the first paleo post will be [drum roll, please]: Chocolate Chip and Bacon Cookies! You read that correctly and no, I can’t take credit for the crazy, yet delicious, idea.

So join me in my suffering adventures in going primal and dairy-free! Here’s to a healthy and happy new year!